Slide to where you honestly are
0 of 12 movedPaying bills
When the reminder gets scaryOn time, automatically
You break something you borrowed
Hope nobody noticesTell them and replace it
Promises you've made
Depends how I feel on the dayIf I said it, I do it
The Wi-Fi is slow
Unplug everything in a rageMake a cup of tea
Something you really want
Buy it now, worry laterSave up, then buy it
A long queue
Sigh loudly, check the timeFine, I'll read something
In an argument, I need to…
WinUnderstand
Criticism feels like…
A personal attackUseful information
After a bad day
The world is against meTomorrow's another day
Big decisions
Do what everyone tells meGet advice, then decide myself
Something at home breaks
Call a parentFix it, or find someone who can
When things go wrong
Usually someone else's faultMy job to sort out
What maturity means, in short
Psychological maturity is the set of habits that let you run your own life well: keeping commitments, waiting for better rewards, seeing other points of view and taking responsibility for your choices. It isn't fixed at 18; research shows most people keep maturing well into middle age.
This quiz is just for fun and isn't based on a validated scale. The four areas reflect traits personality researchers link to maturity, especially conscientiousness, agreeableness and emotional stability.
By What's Your IQ · Reviewed 4 Oct 2026- Format
- 12 sliders, 3 per area, 0–4 each
- Areas
- Responsibility, patience, perspective, independence
- Result
- A percentage and one of five levels
- Linked research
- The "maturity principle" in personality development
TRY IT YOURSELF
The marshmallow test, adult edition
In the 1960s, children were offered one treat now or two if they waited. Here's a 15-second version. Take one star now, or press wait and hold out for two.
15s
READY?One star now, or two if you wait.Press "Wait for 2" to start the 15-second timer. You can give in at any point.
Smaller than we thoughtthe marshmallow effect, on a closer lookA larger, more diverse 2018 replication found waiting longer predicted later achievement much more weakly once family background was taken into account.2
1989Delay of gratification. Mischel and colleagues reported that preschoolers who waited longer for a treat later had better school results and coped better with stress.1
2000Emerging adulthood. Jeffrey Arnett described 18 to 25 as its own life stage, when people feel neither teenagers nor fully adult.3
2006 · metaThe maturity principle. Across 92 samples, people became more conscientious, agreeable and emotionally stable through their twenties, thirties and beyond.4
2018A replication. Watts, Duncan and Quan's study of over 900 children is behind the panel's caution about reading too much into one test.2
- Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Rodriguez, M. L. (1989). Delay of gratification in children. Science, 244(4907), 933–938.
- Watts, T. W., Duncan, G. J., & Quan, H. (2018). Revisiting the marshmallow test. Psychological Science, 29(7), 1159–1177.
- Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480.
- Roberts, B. W., Walton, K. E., & Viechtbauer, W. (2006). Patterns of mean-level change in personality traits across the life course. Psychological Bulletin, 132(1), 1–25.